spirit.fire.she

Fresh on the heels of watching Lupita Nyong’o get robbed at the Golden Globes for her star-making, provocative and mesmerizing performance in 12 Years A Slave and frankly, still salty over Kerry Washington’s Emmy loss last fall, I was reminded of theHotness’ Most Fascinating List from 2010 and knew it was high-time to bring that justificative joint back. And yea, the Oscars even snubbed Oprah yesterday and left her, for a second time (first Read more...

The Grammys opened with a bang last night, but quickly fizzled into a tricked-out Technicolor circus of flashing lights, frenzied feathers and alien egg births. And like most things that are tricked out, once you get past the fancy frame, you notice the picture on the inside is a muted bore.

But first things first, I have to admit that kicking-off last night’s 3 ½ hour event with a tribute to Aretha Franklin got Read more...

18 days into the new year and it’s already been a doozy. The first week I had to travel to South Carolina to attend the funeral of my ever charming, charismatic, and ambitious cousin, Michael. That same week another cousin suffered a mild stroke at the meager age of 42. On top of worry, grief, regret and frustration, I’ve been dealing with an awful case of writer’s block. I’ve been consumed with thoughts about the Read more...

Like so many people across the globe, I tuned into Barbara Walter’s special last Thursday evening to see who would make her list of “The 10 Most Fascinating People” and like so many peeps I was pretty disappointed. I can see Mark Zuckerberg and Betty White and was pleased to see LeBron James on her list as well, but Jennifer Lopez and The Jersey Shore cast? Nuh-uh. And I don’t have to like something to Read more...

Dang, I missed you! I hope y’all missed yourselves some Hotness. It’s been a very interesting time. Got hacked, but I’m back. Instead of starting off by venting, lamenting, celebrating and reliving the last six weeks, I thought I’d do what I usually do when jump-starting relationships, I talk about music– the communal salve that connects and instantly brings us all back to the middle again. While experiencing both online and offline challenges and revelations, Read more...

What’s up with all these ladies morphing (at least on their album covers) into super sci-fi singers? Just as many women, particularly Black women, we’re beginning to let go of living up to this mythic Superwoman hero of a Mother, Wife, Working Girl, Sista-Friend, it seems like Erykah Badu, Janet Jackson, Janelle Monae, and Christina Aguilera have all shed their hot pants to become super beings ready to take over the music industry and yeah, Read more...

On Thursday night I was shown some extraordinary birthday love and treated to dinner and a VIP-pass to see Janelle Monae’s show at the Highline Ballroom. This was only my second time seeing the Wondaland phenom, and so I was revved up especially since I had already heard most of her upcoming album– The ArchAndroid, which I think is blazing like a Drew Barrymore double-crosser in Fire Starter. If Erykah is the ultimate Read more...

I’m so excited about the music that’s dropping in 2010! I really feel like, more so now than ever, the ladies are going to smash this year wide open, which after Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, I couldn’t be more pleased.

The Grammy’s, even though promoted as a Ladies Night, really played strongly for the fellas. Maxwell and Eminem ripped that sucka silly on just some old school Read more...